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I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God's amazing grace be with you! God's robust peace!

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Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

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Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. It is written to the church in Thessalonica, you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May his grace and peace be yours.

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Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you're in our prayers

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We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

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We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,

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We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.

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as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father.

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We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

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remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

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As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special.

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For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

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knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.

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We know that God loves you, dear brothers and sisters, and that he chose you to be his own people.

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When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn't just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions. You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you,

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because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

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For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

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For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message.

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and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!-taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.

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You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

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And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

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So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.

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Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you?

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And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

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so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.

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As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece.

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The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master's Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don't even have to say anything anymore--you're the message!

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The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,

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For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

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And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it,

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People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God.

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for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

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For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

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for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God.

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They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.

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and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

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and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

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And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven--Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

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So, friends, it's obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time.

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You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.

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For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.

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You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.

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We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn't slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God's Message to you, defiant of the opposition.

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We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

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But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.

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You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, even though we were surrounded by many who opposed us.

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God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message.

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For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.

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For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

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So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery.

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Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval--only God approval. Since we've been put through that battery of tests, you're guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas.

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On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

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But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

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For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts.

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We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

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You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness.

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For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness--God is witness.

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Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know. And God is our witness that we were not just pretending to be your friends so you would give us money!

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Even though we had some standing as Christ's apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else.

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We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

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Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

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As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else.

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We weren't aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children.

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As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.

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But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.

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As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children.

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We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

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We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

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So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

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We loved you so much that we gave you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too.

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You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn't have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God's Message to you.

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Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

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For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

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Don't you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that our expenses would not be a burden to anyone there as we preached God's Good News among you.

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You saw with your own eyes how discreet and courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers. And God knows we weren't freeloaders!

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You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

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You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;

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You yourselves are our witnesses--and so is God--that we were pure and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.

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You experienced it all firsthand. With each of you we were like a father with his child,

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For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,

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as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,

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And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children.

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holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.

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encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

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that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

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We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you into his Kingdom to share his glory.

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And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God we preached, you didn't pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you took it to heart as God's true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in you believers!

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And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

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For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

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And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn't think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God--which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe.

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Friends, do you realize that you followed in the exact footsteps of the churches of God in Judea, those who were the first to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ? You got the same bad treatment from your countrymen as they did from theirs, the Jews

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For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews,

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For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,

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And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God's churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.

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who killed the Master Jesus (to say nothing of the prophets) and followed it up by running us out of town. They make themselves offensive to God and everyone else

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who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men

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who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,

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For some of the Jews had killed their own prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us and driven us out. They displease God and oppose everyone

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by trying to keep us from telling people who've never heard of our God how to be saved. They've made a career of opposing God, and have gotten mighty good at it. But God is fed up, ready to put an end to it. [JC]

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in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

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forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

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by trying to keep us from preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, for fear some might be saved. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.